Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, which commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena in the 4th century. It was burried and hidden by local Jews or early Christians to protect it from the pagans that were trying to suppress Christianity.
More deeply, this feast celebrates Christ’s victory over death by transforming suffering into an act of love. Jesus, who “humbled himself, becoming obedient to death itself–even death on a cross,” performed the greatest act of love: dying on a cross for our sin, not generally but personally, so that we might be with him in paradise.
Saint Helena was in her 80s when she chose to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She wasn’t looking for power or attention; she sought something simple and profound–the presence of God. She knew that finding the True Cross would be more than an archeological mission, but a spiritual one. She recognized it by its grace when a dying woman was healed by touching the wood from one of three unearthed crosses and felt the presence of Christ.
She didn’t stop there. After discovering the Cross, she built Churches to honor Christ’s glorious life, death, and resurrection. She also had a significant influence on her son, Emperor Constantine, and helped shape the Christian empire. Saint Helena remained humble, didn’t seek earthly power, and was always close to Christ.
Today, we pray for all those who feel buried beneath suffering, loss, or uncertainty–that through the mystery of the Cross and the witness of Saint Helena, they may rediscover hope, healing, and the presence of Christ in the ruins.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord,
You know how easily we walk past the broken places—
how often we assume nothing holy could live there.
But today, we remember the Cross:
not polished, not lifted high,
but buried deep beneath ruins and silence.
And we remember Helena—
a mother, a seeker,
who refused to believe that grace had been lost.
She dug through stone and ash,
through history and grief,
until the Cross rose again.
Teach us to search like she did.
Not for relics, but for redemption.
Not for certainty, but for presence.
Help us believe that even now,
beneath the weight of what we carry,
grace still waits to be found.
Amen.
Saint Helena, pray for us.
Jesus, I trust in you.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tomorrow’s saint of the day is another Marian feast, The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
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